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She said: “This was a vicious attack on a police officer who was carrying out his duties and serving the public.

"For far too long now, police officers – and other emergency service workers – have been subject to assaults simply for doing their jobs and the courts have seemingly handed down quite lenient sentences in so many cases.

“These sentences neither suitably punished the offender nor acted as any kind of deterrent to others who might think it’s OK to attack the police.

“But they also served to make police officers feel assaults on them were taken less seriously than those on a member of the public.

“That should never be the case.

"An attack on a police officer should be seen as an attack on society and I am pleased that the courts, in this case, have handed down a sentence that reflects the gravity of this assault.”